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Internet Meme
Or, lolcats, Harlem shakes and double rainbows as the language of the new generation. Dawkins' "Old School" Meme With the rise of social networking and sharing platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, it is no surprise that the internet meme is more popular now than ever. The frameworks for social media platforms are extremely conducive to the rapid exchange of ideas and content. The popularity of the internet meme has quickly risen to such great heights in such a short period of time that it could be easily believed the meme is a completely new phenomenon; however, this is not the case. The term "meme" was coined by the noted biologist and ethologist Richard Dawkins in his seminal book The Selfish Gene. Whereas we would believe that the meme refers exclusively to the internet phenomenon that we are experiencing today, Dawkins had actually coined this term referring to human culture from an evolutionary biology purview. He defines the meme as "the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation" (author's emphasis 192). He continues: : Cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give rise to a form of evolution. ... Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation (189-192). Though Dawkins' work as a whole was controversial, it did prove to be quite influential in the world of academia; however, throughout the years, his work on the meme has found a lesser amount of acceptance. Shifman notes that scholars' criticisms of the theory can be divided into four categories: the term is too ambiguous, the analogy between genes and culture is dubious, the term does not take human agency into account and, finally, the term does not enrich our understanding of cultural transmission (364). The Meme Goes Digital Conversely, now looking at current trends in digital culture, the internet meme has found enormous amounts of popularity. Given this bifurcation between academia and popular culture, Shifman stresses the importance of reviving academic study in this field in order to achieve a better understanding of the meaning behind these "superficial and trivial" elements of internet culture (364). Shifman believes that successful internet memes consist of three inextricable elements, which are content, form and stance (372). (These three terms are defined by the author in the table at the end of the section.) Shifman argues that every meme and ensuing imitation of that meme should be analyzed using these three dimensions separately. This can inform us as to "the ways memes promulgate and shape digital culture." To put this theory into practice, Shifman offers the example of the "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" video posted to YouTube in 2007 by Chris Crocker. In this video, Crocker emotively and passionately defends his idol, Britney Spears, who had been heavily criticized for her lackluster 2007 Video Music Awards performance. The video became wildly popular and inspired number of imitations. Here is one example: Shifman's analysis of the original meme and its imitations is summarized in the table to the left. She concludes that memetic imitation is largely ironic (371). I would argue that this is the general tone of popular online culture; irony has become a language in itself. It is thus understandable that the internet meme has found such popularity; it is a perfect vehicle. As Shifman argues, memes "are the raison d'etre [sic] of digital communication." Memes Argue Though Shifman's analysis shows how memes flow and expand upon one another, it fails to establish the motivations of imitators. It also does not explain the rich variety of in the reappropriation of a given meme. For instance, why does this photo of Scarlett Johansson falling... ...inspire these photos? scarlett-johansson-falling-down-meme-alladin.jpg htfs.jpg this_scarlett_johansson_falling_down_meme_is_so_funny_640_14.jpg vxhdg.jpg 0d6.jpg ghfd.jpg scarlettfall7.jpg Hahner argues that internet memes and their imitative proliferation are due to visual argumentation (153). In other words, when a given image solicits an interpretation, the imitator will appropriate it and recontextualize it within their own understanding of it. These different contextualizations of the original image both create a space for discourse as to the meaning of the original image, as well as build upon one another's ideas, thus creating a meme (155). This analysis both explains the motivations of imitators and their large variety of interpretations. To illustrate her point, Hahner offers the famous "Riot Kiss" photo from the 2011 Vancouver riots as an example. Out of context, this photo lends it itself to multiple interpretations. What was this couple's intention? Were they posing for the camera? Were they doing this as an act of protest? These interpretations of meaning can be deciphered in a number of the imitators. The fact is that the couple pictured has stated that the embrace was not a gesture of protest and that the male was only momentarily comforting his partner who had been struck down to the ground by a police officer. Despite this explanation, the internet meme kept growing phenomenally (152). The power of the memetic interpretation, then, is greater than the truth behind the original image. Vancouver-riot-kiss-meme.jpg VancouverRiotKissDelacroixLiberty.jpg VancouverGeorgeMeme_display_image.jpg cop-kiss.jpg riot-kiss-smashbros.jpg riotcouple16.jpg ss_2011-06-16_at_2.29.29_PM_display_image.png Are You Fluent in Meme? Though seemingly trivial, I would argue that memes are a language of sorts that help the networked generation express themselves in an amusing and engaging way, as well as a way to participate in the ongoing digital zeitgeist. Often, it would seem that the easiest and most effective way for online users to interact with one another is through use of these brief, (usually) funny and appealing devices. For so much of internet culture, and especially in the case of comment culture, irony is the tone of choice. Given that memes are largely ironic in nature, these devices serve well as tools to vivify one's point of view. Works Cited Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2006. Web. Oct. 14 2013. Hahner, Leslie A. "The Riot Kiss: Framing Memes as Visual Argument." ''The Journal of the American Forensic Association ''49 (2013): 151-66. Web. Oct. 14 2013. Shifman, Limor. "Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling with a Conceptual Troublemaker." ''Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication ''18 (2013): 362–77. Web. Oct. 14 2013.